1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is concerned with improvements in and relating to investigations of materials, particularly of materials which may include radioactive sources within them.
2. The Relevant Technology
In a wide variety of circumstances it is desirable to be able to determine the nature and amount of radioactive sources within a material. One such circumstance is the determination of which category of waste the contents of a container should be put in. The more hazardous the category of waste the contents of a container are put in, the higher the cost of the safe storage or disposal route to be used. Accurate classification of material into the lowest level category applying is desirable.
Some instruments exist which use an array of gamma detectors to provide a radioactive source present/no radioactive source present indication for a volume of waste. To do so, the instrument requires that the volume of waste be spread thinly on a conveyor to ensure exposure of sources to the detectors or be presented in a relatively small container. Even then, the instrument also requires that the nature of the waste is well known so as to be sure that no “problem” waste materials are present. Such “problem” materials include shielding materials such as metals, etc. Such instruments are thus limited in terms of the range of materials they can handle, throughput of materials they can handle and rely upon assumptions about the material introduced. They are also limited to a present/absent style determination, rather than any quantification.